Better Builder Podcast

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This week on the Better Builder podcast, Sam Hayes is back for a second time, two and a half years after one of our earliest episodes. Sam runs one of Auckland's respected high-end building companies, and he doesn't hold back on where the industry is really at right now.
Sam gets honest about surviving a slow market with projects on hold and good people to protect, and why so many builders hide their struggles when everyone is feeling the same thing. He breaks down the right process for building a bespoke home, fixed price versus cost plus, and why he thinks builders should stay firmly in their lane and leave the design to the architect. He also tells the story of the Muriwai home that took his business to another level and pushed him off the tools for good, and why he's never once chased revenue or a quick buck on the side.
Social Links 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/betterbuilderpodcast
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@betterbuilderpodcast
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/betterbuilderstudio
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/better-builder-podcast
Linktree - https://linktr.ee/betterbuilderpodcast

Better Builder is hosted by Brad Visser. Brad is the CEO and founder of Gro, a builder centric agency that helps custom home builders attract higher quality projects. 
Brad’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/betterbradvisser
Gro’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gro.agency
Gro’s Offer https://builder.groagency.co/vsl

Disclaimer
This podcast does not constitute professional advice (financial, legal or otherwise) and you should seek your own professional advice where required. By listening to and/or accessing this podcast you acknowledge this, and you acknowledge that no warranty, guarantee or representation is made as to the accuracy of any information featured in this ...

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This week on the Better Builder podcast we sit down with Jake Woods, founder of Calibre Homes. Jake came up as a boat builder, spent nearly two decades on superyachts, then came home and built Calibre into a respected Auckland renovation company. He gets into precision on the tools, why trust is everything, and his push to fix the apprenticeship pathway with Builders Academy.

Social Links 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/betterbuilderpodcast
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@betterbuilderpodcast
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/betterbuilderstudio
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/better-builder-podcast
Linktree - https://linktr.ee/betterbuilderpodcast

Better Builder is hosted by Brad Visser. Brad is the CEO and founder of Gro, a builder centric agency that helps custom home builders attract higher quality projects. 
Brad’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/betterbradvisser
Gro’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gro.agency
Gro’s Offer https://builder.groagency.co/vsl

Disclaimer
This podcast does not constitute professional advice (financial, legal or otherwise) and you should seek your own professional advice where required. By listening to and/or accessing this podcast you acknowledge this, and you acknowledge that no warranty, guarantee or representation is made as to the accuracy of any information featured in this ...

Send us Fan Mail
This week we sit down with Jarrett Howe from Frontline Project Management, on-site at a bespoke Auckland home he built with architect Jason Bailey of Hoxha Bailey. Jarrett and his partner Ernie run a small operation that takes on big things, from one-off homes to projects worth tens of millions.
He gets into why getting the builder in early is a game-changer, how his open-book system shows clients where every dollar goes, and why so many busy building companies still go under. He also shares his own story, from learning his trade in the army to the loss that reshaped how he thinks about work, money and family.

Social Links 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/betterbuilderpodcast
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@betterbuilderpodcast
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/betterbuilderstudio
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/better-builder-podcast
Linktree - https://linktr.ee/betterbuilderpodcast

Better Builder is hosted by Brad Visser. Brad is the CEO and founder of Gro, a builder centric agency that helps custom home builders attract higher quality projects. 
Brad’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/betterbradvisser
Gro’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gro.agency
Gro’s Offer https://builder.groagency.co/vsl

Disclaimer
This podcast does not constitute professional advice (financial, legal or otherwise) and you should seek your own professional advice where required. By listening to and/or accessing this podcast you acknowledge this, and you acknowledge that no warranty, guarantee or representation is made as to the accuracy of any information featured in this ...

Send us Fan Mail
This week we sit down with Jason Bailey of Hoxha Bailey Architects, who flew in from the Sunshine Coast for the chat. Over 30 years designing Auckland homes, Jason shares his story and the lessons behind it.

He takes us from a creative Auckland childhood and an arts degree into architecture, and the leap of starting a practice from scratch with no clients. Along the way he gets into the pros and cons of a business partnership, the art of pulling a real brief out of a client, and why working collaboratively with builders early makes all the difference. He's also honest about the budget realities of building today, and the burnout that led him to set boundaries and move across the ditch to find some balance.
Social Links 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/betterbuilderpodcast
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@betterbuilderpodcast
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/betterbuilderstudio
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/better-builder-podcast
Linktree - https://linktr.ee/betterbuilderpodcast

Better Builder is hosted by Brad Visser. Brad is the CEO and founder of Gro, a builder centric agency that helps custom home builders attract higher quality projects. 
Brad’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/betterbradvisser
Gro’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gro.agency
Gro’s Offer https://builder.groagency.co/vsl

Disclaimer
This podcast does not constitute professional advice (financial, legal or otherwise) and you should seek your own professional advice where required. By listening to and/or accessing this podcast you acknowledge this, and you acknowledge that no warranty, guarantee or representation is made as to the accuracy of any information featured in this ...

Send us Fan Mail
This week, we welcome Ben Kevey-Maiden, founder of New Wave Construction, to the Better Builder podcast as we sit down on location in St Luke's, Auckland, inside the striking little commercial building he built off the side of his family's car wash. Ben has built a reputation across Auckland for bringing complex, high-end architectural designs to life, with a craftsman's eye for detail and finish.

In this episode, Ben pulls back the curtain on the technical reality of the build, from setting footings into solid basalt rock to pouring a cantilevered concrete staircase that hangs off the side of the building. He shares how he came up through an old-school apprenticeship, cut his teeth on high-end projects in London, and went out on his own to build a deliberately small, tight-knit team he treats as equals. Ben also opens up on the honest stuff: the "circle of trust" that holds a project together, learning to step back from working every night, and how family, meditation and staying on the tools keep him grounded. He explains why he has never needed to market, why he would rather stay small than become "a guy behind an email signature," and how early collaboration with the right architect keeps projects running on time and on budget.
Social Links 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/betterbuilderpodcast
Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@betterbuilderpodcast
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/betterbuilderstudio
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/better-builder-podcast
Linktree - https://linktr.ee/betterbuilderpodcast

Better Builder is hosted by Brad Visser. Brad is the CEO and founder of Gro, a builder centric agency that helps custom home builders attract higher quality projects. 
Brad’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/betterbradvisser
Gro’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gro.agency
Gro’s Offer https://builder.groagency.co/vsl

Disclaimer
This podcast does not constitute professional advice (financial, legal or otherwise) and you should seek your own professional advice where required. By listening to and/or accessing this podcast you acknowledge this, and you acknowledge that no warranty, guarantee or representation is made as to the accuracy of any information featured in this ...